PURIFICA'TION, noun [Latin purificatio. See Purify.]

1. The act of purifying; the act or operation of separating and removing from any thing that which is heterogeneous or foreign to it; as the purification of liquors or of metals.

2. In religion, the act or operation of cleansing ceremonially, by removing any pollution or defilement. purification by washing or by other means, was common to the Hebrews and to pagans. The Mohammedans use purification as a preparation for devotion. 2 Chronicles 30:19. Esther 2:3. Luke 2:22.

3. A cleansing from guilt or the pollution of sin; the extinction of sinful desires, appetites and inclinations.